


Let's ride together

by lilymcenvy



Category: Long Way Round (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 20:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6674371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilymcenvy/pseuds/lilymcenvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He underestimates me. I hate him for it.<br/>What's gonna happen when we travel around the world in one bold expedition.<br/>Will the adventure and dangerous situations bring us closer or even more apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I was just sitting in my favourite café in the centre of London, doing a bit of blogging, when I got a phone call from my friend Asia with a offer that, as I realised later on, has changed my whole life.  
I'm in my twenties and I've been living in London for four years now. Although I'm doing a hell lot of traveling and moving 'round and the word 'home' just doesn't roll off my tongue so easily, I've been loving London and how my life's turned out to be here. A big part of that is because I live in a very lovely, quite big apartment with my uncle who means the world to me. He's always been the biggest part of my life, the one person I look up to, my role model, my best friend. And we've been through so many adventures together.  
And just yesterday we were all crawled up on the sofa in front of TV in our living room, talking about this big adventure that's being planned by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman - trip round the world on bikes. We'd been reading about it on internet for a few days already and it's just right up our alley so we've been really excited to see what they're up to. And it's been few months since we took our own bikes for a spin and I must admit I miss that excitement and feel of adventure.  
And now I just got of the phone with Asia who's actually working with Ewan and Charlie on the planning and she offered me to come see them at their London headquarters with the possibility I'd come with them as a cameraman/biker for the whole thing. It doesn't get better than that! Of course I said yes and we agreed that I'll come by tomorrow. Apparently they've been having pretty hard time to actually find a cameraman who's also able to ride a bike somehow decent.  
The big question now is... What the hell am I gonna wear tomorrow?!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm not really the model type of a girl but as my blog is somehow popular, I've got few chances of doing photoshoots for some fashion brands and every one of them was a huge boost for my self-confidence. So now I'm pretty satisfied with how I look. I've learned to love my body and my face.   
But still... It takes me so much time to actually choose something to wear! Especially when I really need to look good and representative. Maybe it's because I've got just too many clothes!  
As I'm actually trying to get a part in a bike trip around the world, I figured I should go with a leather jacket. I pair it with my favourite boyfriend jeans, simple tee, Converse shoes and sporty backpack instead of a handbag. That should do! I'm not going crazy with make-up, I'm keeping it simple, the same with my hair. I'm just gonna leave them hanging down onto my shoulders as it’s the way they look the best. And I'm ready to go.  
***  
I'm arriving at the address Asia gave me around 2 pm and sending her a quick text that I'm here.  
In a second she appears in the front door, smiling ear to ear.  
"Hey, rock star!" she says and gives me a hug.  
"Hey, bud, how are you?"  
"Really good. You?"  
"Great! I'm so excited!" I give her a big smile.  
"Awesome. Well, before we go in, there's one thing you should know," she says and her smile drops a bit.  
"What?" this is never good news.  
"Well, there might be a possibility that guys don't know you're a girl," she says hesitantly and gives me a apologetic look.  
"Oh," I just don't know what to say to that. By now I'm used to everybody thinking I'm not capable of thinks I'm actually capable of. Everyone always underestimates me. Just because I'm a girl. But this is a lifetime opportunity, I want this to work out well, I wanna go so badly. I thought they already knew and are still willing to give me a chance. But this changes everything, this is a major setback. I've got this opportunity and I started being really excited. And now it might not happen...  
"Please, say something!" Asia brings me back to reality, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. But I was just worried you wouldn't come and I know you're perfect for this! Please!"  
And I have to laugh. Even just her having that kind of faith in me is giving me that confidence boost I need to come in and prove them I can do this. "It's okay, A. I'm ready to go in and show them what I've got!" I give her a little wink.  
"That's my girl. Let's go," she smiles and holds the door for me.  
We both walk in. It looks like a huge garage and it's still quite empty as they're just in the beginning of the planning and preparing.   
"All the boys are waiting on you in the office," Asia says as she's leading me across the room and through the door in the back that leads into a little hallway.  
"I'm starting to be really nervous!"  
"Don't worry, Pet. They're gonna love you!" she gives me a reassuring smile.  
"You sure?" I laugh nervously.  
"Well, they would be stupid not to," she laughs too.  
"Okay. That seems like a good reason."  
Then we walked into one of the rooms. There's a big table in the centre of it with chairs all around. The room is full of papers and all kinds of books, the walls are covered with huge maps. And then... Here they are. Four guys sitting around. Ewan, Charlie, David and Russ, all look up as we walk in.  
And the room goes absolutely silent. They're all looking at me like I'm some kind of freak of nature and I feel my knees starting to shake.  
"Well, this is not a good start," I say and give Asia an almost desperate look.  
"Okay, guys, this is my friend Pet and I just know she's the one we're looking for," Asia says to them and I have to smile. At least someone is on my side.  
"Wait, are you serious?" Russ says and he looks almost shocked.  
"Yes, I am dead serious!" Asia doesn't give up.  
"You know that we're not talking about two weeks holiday by the sea side here, right? It's a trip round the world, on bikes, through some dangerous countries. We take it seriously, Asia!" Charlie says and shakes his head in disbelieve.  
"Yeah. We're not looking for somebody who just want to get out for a few days and then give up and run home crying," Russ ads.  
"Excuse me?" that's when I have enough, "You know shit about me. You have no idea what I've already been through. Just because I'm a girl, I'm not gonna just stand here and take this bullshit from you. I don't need this! I have heard the same stuff so many times. And every time I just went and proved everyone they were wrong," I'm just so angry all of the sudden. I'm tired of people thinking they're better than me even though they have no idea who I am and what I've done in my life. I can see Asia smiling with pride next to me but I'm not done yet: "You think that just because you're men, you can do things I can't? Well, think twice!"  
"Please calm down," Ewan says, "I bet Russ and Charlie didn't mean to be rude or something. We just think this trip might be quite rough. I definitely don't think you're not capable of keeping up with us. I just never though that a girl would really want to do something like this," he says with a little smile and it calms me down a bit. At least he's not talking to me like I'm a child.  
"Well, I'm used to rough trips on motorbikes," I shrug.  
"Really?" he says, but he seems curious about it, not shocked. I smile but before I can say anything, Asia says: "Alright. I'm gonna make all of you a cup of coffee and you can talk. Be right back," she smiles and disappears in the hallway.  
"Please, sit down, Pet," Ewan says and points at one chair. And I do as I'm told.  
"It's quite an unusual name if I may say," he smiles.   
"Well, my whole name is Petra, it's just everyone here calls me Pet."  
"Oh, you don't come from here?"  
"Nope. Born and raised in Czech Republic. Moved here four years ago."  
"Oh, really?! We're actually planning to go through Czech Republic."  
"That's amazing! You're gonna love it there! It's a beautiful country!"  
"You must have been really young when you moved here."  
"19."  
"Wow. Was it hard to settle in?"  
"Not really. My uncle had been living here for a few years already so I just moved in with him."  
Asia comes in with coffee and hands one cup to every one of us.  
"Look, I'm sorry for what I said before," Russ says when Asia leaves again, "You seems like a nice girl. But I'm still not very sure what makes you capable of coming with us."  
"Okay, let's talk business then," I say with a little bit of confidence that the little chat with Ewan gave me, "Here it goes," I take a bit breath 'cause this is gonna be a long story. But I'm ready to do everything in my power to prove that I'm capable of doing this: "I was raised around the motorbikes. Got my own when I was 13. In 14 I won my first track race and then built my new bike from the scratch on my own. In 15 I got a permission for early driving licence and took off for six months of biking all across the Europe and North Africa. I've ridden every kind of surface you could think of - tarmac, rocks, mud, sand, everything. And it's been fucking hard. But not once I gave up. Giving up is not in my dictionary."  
"But what about the cameraman part?" Russ asks still full of doubts.  
"Well, every week I got a few millions views on videos on my YouTube chanel."  
"Yeah? And it means you're a good cameraman, right?" he says with a little laugh.  
"Oh, c'mon, man. Give her a break. She's amazing!" Charlie says and that's when I know I've won. I give Charlie a thankful smile.  
"So should we vote about Pet being the part of the team or what?" David asks.  
"There's no need," Russ shrugs with surrender, "It's obvious Ewan and Charlie are both for it. My no wouldn't mean anything, so..." he says, gets up and leaves the room.  
"He doesn't seem very happy about that," I says with a little bit of disappointment.  
"Oh, don't worry. He's gonna get over it and be glad you're here," Ewan smiles.  
"Welcome on board!" David says and gives me a hug.  
"Thank you so much. So... When are we going?" I asks right away with an excitement and they all laugh.  
"Oh, I like you!" Charlie says and gives me a hug too.  
"Now when we have time... If you don't mind, I'm dying to see some of your videos!" Ewan says.  
"No problem. I've got my computer with me, I'll show you."

And it all begins. The biggest adventure in my life. The roller-coaster of fights, danger, but also excitement, amazing moments and happiness.


	3. Chapter 3

It's been a week since I joined the team and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Although I get along with everyone so well, Russ is still an asshole to me. He still thinks I'm this weak little girl and I just can't get over that. So I don't talk to him unless I really have to and when I do, I try to get it over with as quickly as possible. The thing is that he always talks to me like he's better than me and I don't really know why. I just don't get it. Why he thinks I'm that useless.  
Just now I was talking to him about tomorrow's survival training, me and boys are supposed to do, and as I'm leaving his office I had this awful feeling as always after talking to him. I really try not to let his words get to me but he always find a way how to bring me down. So every time that happens (and it's quite often as we're forced to talk to each other frequently), I just go to sit by my bike that I just brought here yesterday because of a little trip me and boys are taking in two days to see how we'll get along on the journey and while we'll be camping out in the open, just the three of us. I'm gonna be riding with Ewan and Charlie for the first time and I'm really excited about that.  
Well, not right now. Now I'm pissed at Russ and I just need to get my mind off of it. So I'm just gonna take my tool box and do a little maintenance on my bike. As I did yesterday... And the day before that. In fact, my bike has never been in a better shape.  
After maybe half an hour I'm still angry and irritated and I realise that this kind of ritual of mine just doesn't work this time. So I just lay down on the floor and cover the face with my hands. I'm just trying to stay positive about all of this. I've met a lot of people in my life who just never believed in me and I always got over them and didn't care about what they thought of me. But this time it's somehow different. I care about this too much to just ignore it. I want him to trust me, to believe I can to this. Two days ago I promised myself I won't cry because of him, that I won't show the weakness. And I won't. I know I won't. But it's just so hard to stay above his words. They hurt.  
I guess I'd call it a day for today and just go home.  
***  
When I'm at home, in my bedroom, editing my latest video for my channel, my phone starts ringing and Ewan's name appears on the display.  
"Hey, Ewan, what's up?" I answer the call.  
"Hey, darlin'. I though you'll be here at HQ when I arrive so I could talk to you. You left early?"  
"Yeah. I was kinda tired," I lie.  
"Okay, no problem. I just wanted to talk to you about that tomorrow's training course. Like what time and where we'll meet and stuff like that."  
"Oh... Well, I talked to Russ about that. I though he's gonna tell you guys. Otherwise I would have waited for you."  
"So, you talked to Russ? Is that why you left early?" he asks because he already knows me. And also he'd have to be blind not to see what's going between me and Russ.  
I just stay quiet so he speaks again: "Okay. Then what have you told him?"  
"Well, that I'm gonna meet you there because I'm having a photoshoot tomorrow and I'm not sure how long it will take so... I don't want to hold you up or something."  
"Oh, you're having photoshoot, huh?"  
"Yeah, it's kind of a last minute one but it's for Reebok so I'm pretty excited about that."  
"Oh, wow. That's cool! Well, anyway, we're gonna wait for you there, no problem."  
"Alright. Thanks."  
"Sure thing. But, you know... You and Russ should really talk this thing through."  
"I know! I swear I'm trying. But he's just... I don't know. He still think I'm kinda stupid or what."  
"He does not!"  
"Well he's acting like he does."  
"He can be pretty rough, I admit, but he's... Well... I'm gonna talk to him about it," he says and I laugh.  
"Thanks."  
"Anyway... Enjoy the photoshoot tomorrow and I'll see you then."  
"Of course. Thanks. See you there."  
"Bye, Pet."  
"Bye, Ewan."  
I have to admit it's pretty cool to have these kind of phone calls with Ewan McGregor.


	4. Chapter 4

Photoshooting went well. Really well. I've been cooperating with Reebok for some time so this wasn't my first shooting with them. It's always great fun and they always let me keep some clothes. This time I'm leaving with amazing sweatshirt, pair of running shoes, nice cosy beanie and a few little bits and pieces.  
As the photoshooting went on longer than I was expecting I'm a bit tight on my schedule. By the time everything is done and I'm free to go, I know boys are already at the venue of the training course. Good thing I came here on my motorbike so I don't have to make a run to HQ. I just leave the sporty sweatshirt on, put my jeans, Reebok shoes and my leather jacket on, toss everything else into my backpack and still with the make-up on and my hair done up in two cute braids I jump on my bike and off I go just a few miles outside of the town.  
It takes me just about twenty minutes but I'm still running late.  
Funny thing is that just this morning Ewan texted me address of this place even though I know this place very well. I've been there a couple of times. Of course Ewan doesn't know that.  
I arrive to the estate and just by the gate I see someone I know.  
"Hey, Joe!" I say as I stop in front of the gate and quickly take my helmet off.  
"Oh, hey, Pet! What a surprise! What are doing here?" he says with smile and comes to give me a quick hug.  
"Looks like I'm going around the world," I laugh.  
"Of course you are!" he laughs too, "How are you doing?"  
"Really good. You?"  
"Well, you know... Same old, same old."  
"Alright. I should really get in, I'm a bit late. But it was really good to see you again, after long time."  
"Yeah, it's been a few months."  
"As I said... Long time."  
"Of course," he laughs, "Anyway... Come in and enjoy. Jamie's gonna be really happy to see you," he says as he's opening the gate for me.  
"Can't wait to see him again!" I put my helmet on and come through, "Take care, Joe!" I say as I pass him by.  
"You too!" he waves at me and I make my way to the main house without problem as I know this place quite well.  
When I come into the room when the theoretical training takes place, the first thing I notice is that Russ and Dave are here too, even though it should have been just me, Ewan and Charlie. I'm not really happy about it as I thought I'm gonna have a little brake from Russ but there's nothing I can do about it.  
Then I see Jamie who's actually already started the course as I can see on the white board behind him.  
"Hey, you!" I smile at him.  
"Oh my goodness!" he laughs, "I should have known it's you we're waiting on. Who else it would be!"  
I give him a tight hug. It's always good to see him.   
"Wait! You two know each other?" Ewan asks and all the boys look surprised.  
"Of course," Jamie says, still having one arm around my shoulders, "This girl is my best student!" he laughs.  
"Oh, please!" I smile nervously.  
"No, it's true! I was actually worried when you guys told me, there's gonna be a girl on the expedition. I was like... Well, this is stupid! She's gonna die... But this girl," Jamie looks at me with pride, "She's gonna save your asses if anything goes wrong."  
"Shut up or I'm gonna start blushing!" I laugh.  
"There's no reason to be embarrassed, Pet! It's true! Really, guys," he turns to the boys, "This is your win, right here," he points at me, "You couldn't pick the better person. Pet's a badass! But I suppose... You already know that."  
"I think you know more than us," Charlie laughs, quite nervously I'd say.  
"They don't know?" Jamie looks at me, a bit surprised. I shake my head.  
"What should we know?" Ewan asks.  
"The training she'd been through in Czech Republic? With army and stuff? Hard-core!"  
And the room goes silent. Of course I look at Russ. He doesn't look impressed which is... Not surprising.  
"What?" Ewan says finally.  
"Yeah, about that..." I look at guys and shrug, "I got some special treatment from guys who then got shipped to Afghanistan... And I just went to ride my bike... That seemed legit," I laugh.  
"Oh my god! Like for real? You have to tell us about that?!" David says, almost beaming with excitement. But then I hear Russ doing this disagreeing noise like I'm bothering him so I just shrug: "Well, not much to tell there. Six months of crying myself to sleep every night because... Well, that's just what you do when you're 14 and twenty guys is kicking you through mud all day, right?!" I laugh.  
"Wait a minute!" Charlie looks at me like I'm some kind of insane, "You were fourteen and you spent six months army training!?"  
"Yeah, basically. No big deal."  
"No big deal?!" Ewan repeats in disbelieve.  
"Well obviously back there I was praying for quick death to end my misery," I laugh, "But as I'm looking back, I think of it as an amazing experience that definitely changed my life."  
"So what exactly were you doing? Like the proper combat thing? Shooting? Fighting?" Ewan starts asking but I know this is not what we're here for: "Basically all of it but I think there will be time to tell you later. Now... Let's get you to learn something, right?" I turn to Jamie who nods.  
"Look, Charlie, she's already bossing us around!" Ewan says and they both laugh. I laugh with them but I know we need to be serious about this trip.  
"I told you, she's an expert," Jamie says and we get down to do the training.


	5. Chapter 5

Later on when we're through the surviving course and we actually get back to the HQ, we all sit down with a cup of tea to warm up after quite a hard day of freezing in the country side. And of course guys bring back the training topic.  
"So is this the time when you finally tell us about that hard-core stuff you did with the army?" David asks.  
"Oh, well," I laugh, "I don't really think it's that interesting!"  
"You kidding?! I'm dying to know everything!" Ewan says.  
"It should have been the first thing you told us. Like... Hey guys, I wanna ride with you around the world, I've been through combat action!" Charlie laughs.  
"Yeah, right!" I shake my head nervously but laugh anyway.  
"How did you even get to do that? And... Like... Why?" Ewan asks.  
"Well... When me and my uncle started seriously planning that six mounts trip, my mum's only condition for letting me go was that we're gonna do some proper training so she wouldn't be so worried. And my dad's a fireman so he's got some connections. And he got us in the army base where we lived for six months and were basically part of the units of soldiers who were preparing for the war."  
"Wow! How did the soldiers take you in? I mean, you were fourteen, right?" David asks.  
I nod: "Well, it's actually kinda funny story."  
"Oh, is it?!" Charlie laughs in disbelieve.  
"Yeah. Well... As we moved in, me and Dan, my uncle, got separated. He went to guys' dormitory and I went to stay with ladies. And they were amazing. So fierce and everything. I so wanted to be like them. They really took me in. They thought of me as a part of the unit but they were also kinda protecting me, you know. I mean... I was a little girl after all. So they always made sure I'm doing okay, I'm not suffering, I don't get hurt and stuff like that. Of course, the training was hard but I felt like they were taking a little part of it away from me, you know, keeping me away from the real thing. And you know, as I was already there, sweating my ass off, I though... Might as well get down to the core... Oh, boy, was I regretting it later!" I laugh.  
"What happened?" Ewan asks curiously.  
"Well, there was this guy... General or something. He was definitely standing the highest on the base and everyone was kinda afraid of him. He was a huge guy, let me tell you that! Like maybe twice my size with broad shoulders and everything. And I mean... I was 14, for Christ sake, I was afraid just to look at him," I laugh, "So one day, after maybe two weeks of training with ladies, I took all my courage and went to talk to him. I basically asked him if I can train with guys and he looked at me like I'm insane which, as I found out really soon, I was, but he agreed. They moved me to guy's dormitory but I was still away from my uncle, as he was training with a different unit. I was kinda scared but determined to do that. I got a room for myself, which was good, I had some privacy for crying later," I laugh nervously. Even now, after years, it's still hard to talk about some of my weakest moments, especially in front of Russ.  
"Was it different from the ladies' training?" Charlie asks.  
"Oh, you have no idea! I mean... The training was the same, really. But as ladies had, I guess, some kinda maternal instinct or something, they were taking care of me more than actually letting me get dirty, if you know what I mean. But guys... Well... Just on my first day... I really though I'm gonna die. I'm not joking. It was so hard! I was so physically and mentally drained that I just couldn't go on. I stumbled, I fell down. But they didn't help me get up. They just kicked my leg or something, yelled at me to get up, to go on, to push harder... So I just did. I never gave up!"  
"So it was like that for six months? How the hell did you survive that?" Ewan asks.  
"It was like this for maybe a week."  
"What then?"  
"We went for a proper combat thing," I laugh, "They left us in the middle of the forest with the simple task: to survive and find our way back. Of course, guys left me immediately so I was on my own."  
"Are you serious?" Charlie gives me one of his shocked looks.  
I shake my head: "I didn't know where I was nor where to go. I didn't have any kind of map, just a little compass. So I just stood there for a while to breath and calm down. Then I tried to focus, you know, to survive, basically. It was so hard though! It was such a bad whether! It was cloudy, it had been raining for like two whole days or something so the ground was wet and muddy. I was so cold. But I just went on. I had to, you know. After maybe half an hour I came by this little drop-off in the middle of forest and as it was in my way I had to come down. And of course, as it was so wet, I slipped. And I came rolling down like a rock, hit my head hard and twist my ankle or something so when I stood up after few painful minutes just lying on the cold ground, I was limping. Which wasn't good at all. I wanted to cry so badly. I wanted to give up. Just sit there and wait for death, basically," I laugh. Looking back now, it all seems funny, though it definitely wasn't then. "But I just told myself that I can cry when I'm back in my room, in a warm bed, not now and there in the middle of nowhere. So I just kept limping on. After few minutes of misery and pure terror, guys from my unit just jumped out from bushes around with smiles ear to ear, saying that I just prove myself and now am one of them. Since then they were like my brothers... For six months," I smile with a memory of people who became my best friends.  
"That's freaking amazing!" David breaths out.  
"I still can't believe that you were only fourteen years old!" Charlie shakes his head.  
"Yeah. That was some crazy shit! But it was an amazing experience!"  
"Are you still in touch with the guys from your unit?" Ewan asks.  
"Of course. Some of them count as my best friends now. And you know... They were leaving for Afghanistan. I just wanted to know they're gonna make it home safe which they all did."  
"That is all that matters!" David smiles.  
"Of course," I nod.  
Then we talk for a while and as it's quite late we decide to call it a day.  
When I'm packing my stuff on my bike and getting ready to take off, Russ comes up to me. For a second I'm naively thinking that he wants to apologize. But then he gives me one of his sarcastic smiles and I'm just waiting for more insults to come.  
"You were trying to impress me really hard there," he says.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"About you making up all those crazy stories to impress me."  
And I just don't know what to say to that. So I just shake my head and put my leather jacket on.  
"Just keep in mind that it takes more than just a story to impress me, Petra!"  
He definitely gets a little bonus point for calling me by my whole name which is something I'm slightly starting to miss here in London. Even Dan is calling me just Pet, since I moved here. So Russ gets a plus for that even though he probably doesn't have any idea about how much I appreciate that. But the rest of the words he just told me, makes me kinda mad. So without a word I just get on my bike, start the engine and leave him standing there with his stupid adorable face that I love but hate at the same time.


End file.
